Page 39 of Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey #1)

“Woah. Those look like the ones at the store.” His eyes are wide with excitement.

“Hopefully they’ll taste better.” There’s nothing like homemade treats.

I smile over at him as I set the pan down to cool. “Now we wait for them to cool.”

“How long?” His eagerness has me feeling impatient too.

“Five minutes.”

He frowns, looking like a mini grumpy Nick.

“Want to play the song for me while we wait?” I ask.

“It’s probably still going to suck.”

“So what? We have to do things badly in order to do them great.”

He mulls that over for long enough that I’m prepared for him to say no, then trudges over to the couch. He picks up the guitar and then looks up at me with a resolved but hesitant expression. “Here goes nothing.”

I take a seat on one of the barstools in front of the kitchen counter and give him my undivided attention. For all the times he’s practiced here, I haven’t had the opportunity to unabashedly watch him. I knew he didn’t want that any more than I want someone peering over my shoulder while I write.

He takes his time getting situated, guitar resting on one leg, hands in place on the strings. His dark hair falls onto his forehead and into his eyes, and his mouth pulls into a line of concentration.

The first strum has goosebumps dotting my arms. Not because it’s the best thing I’ve ever heard but because I feel like I’m witnessing someone push through the suck.

The greatest lesson I’ve learned with writing and in life is to keep going.

I haven’t always taken my own advice, but I believe it with my whole chest. For a few people, maybe they’re great at something the first time they do it, but for the rest of us, it’s determination mixed with a healthy dose of optimism.

It’s awful now but it won’t be if I just keep going.

When he hits a wrong chord, he looks up with a bashful grimace, but he doesn’t stop. The song moves slower than it should as he picks out each part, but I can see him getting more comfortable with each passing second.

The back of my eyes sting as I sit there and listen to him fumble his way through the entire song. When he’s finished, quiet rings out in the cabin for a beat. He stares down at his guitar like he’s lost in the moment of completion. My chest swells with pride.

As soon as he meets my gaze, I break out into a smile and start clapping. His shy grin appears and it eggs me on. I stand, jump up and down and cheer like I’m at a sold-out concert venue. Maybe someday I will be.

“You finished it!” I take his hand and raise it, making him get silly with me.

“I messed up a bunch still.”

“Celebrate the small wins.”

The timer goes off on my phone.

“Speaking of celebrating.”

We rush to the kitchen together. I hand him a cookie, then take one for myself. At the same time, we take a bite.

“Oh wow,” I say with my mouth still full.

Aidan takes another huge bite and nods. Only when the cookie is gone does he say, “I can’t believe we made that. It’s the best cookie I’ve ever had.”

“You know, it might be the best one I’ve ever had too.”

A knock at the cabin door makes us both look in that direction.

“Come in!” I call as I take another cookie from the pan. Aidan does the same.

Slowly, the door swings open and Nick steps inside.

“Dad!” Aidan runs to him. “We made cookies.”

“I see that.” He uses the pad of his thumb to wipe a smudge of chocolate from the corner of Aidan’s mouth. His son ducks away and then comes back to the kitchen.

“I’m going to take one to Grandpa!” Aidan says, taking a stack, then grabbing his guitar off the couch.

“Don’t eat yourself sick,” Nick tells his retreating son’s back.

“I won’t!” Aidan yells over his shoulder.

Nick and I grin at each other.

“Ruby,” Aidan doubles back as he calls my name. He has that adorable chocolate smile aimed right at me as he stands in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I hope you write a really bad chapter.” His grin widens, then he rushes off.

A laugh bubbles up in my chest and spills out.

Nick arches a brow. “I’m hoping that’s an inside joke.”

“Yeah. We’re suffering for our art.”

“Another reason I’ll never be an author or a musician.” He steps closer and then brings his hand up to wipe the corner of my mouth too. I’d be embarrassed if these cookies weren’t so freaking good.

“How was your day?” he asks.

“Good. Yours?”

“Good.” He leans down and presses his lips to mine.

“Better now,” I admit.

I feel his mouth curve into a smile.

“Thanks for dinner,” I say when he pulls back.

“You’re welcome.” He stands next to me with his back against the counter. “How’d writing go?”

“Still stuck, but I’ll get there.”

“Any chance you want to take a night off tomorrow?” he asks. “Aidan and my dad are planning a Rocky movie night.”

“That’s adorable.”

“It’s my dad’s sly way of getting junk food into the house.” He raises his hands into the air and does air quotes as he says, “for Aidan.”

“That sounds fun, but I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh.” His body stiffens.

“Not leaving leaving. Just for the weekend. My niece is in a softball championship. I’ll be back Sunday or Monday.”

He nods with a thoughtful expression on his face.

I’ve made it weird somehow or maybe it’s only awkward because it’s the first time we’ve talked about me leaving since we started hooking up.

“Maybe we can hang out next week sometime?” I ask.

“Sure. Of course.” He smiles but it feels all wrong. “If you have time. I know you need to finish the book. That’s the whole reason you came, right?”

The pit in my stomach grows. “Right.”

Because it is the reason I came. But it isn’t the only reason I want to be here anymore.

The next morning, I leave early for the airport and stop by the rink. Nick is exactly where I expect to find him. He looks up from the ice, brows pinched together, when he spots me. He skates over to me, a smile forming as he gets close.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving this morning.”

“I am. I’m on the way to the airport now.” I hold up two coffees, one in each hand. “Time for a quick break?”

“Yeah. Of course.” He steps off the ice and we sit on the bench. His leg presses against mine as he asks, “Excited to see your family?”

“I am. I’ve missed them.”

“I’ll bet.”

“What are you going to do this weekend? You know, besides hockey.”

He smirks. “My dad has a doctor appointment in Bozeman this afternoon. I’m going to drive him and make sure he stays out of trouble.”

“For his heart?” I ask, then admit. “Aidan mentioned something about it.”

“Yeah.” Nick’s chin dips as he looks away. “He had a heart attack at the first of the year.”

“I’m sorry. That’s scary.”

He bobs his head again.

“He’s okay now, though. Right?”

“The doctors say everything looks good for now. I guess I’ll know more today.”

I hadn’t meant for this visit to turn into an interrogation, but now that we’re on the topic of parents, there’s one thing that I’ve been wondering about.

“You never mention your mom. Is she in the picture at all?”

His mouth falls into a straight line. “She died when I was in college. About a year before Aidan was born.”

A pit forms in my stomach. “Oh, god, Nick. I am so sorry. I had no idea.”

“I know.” He shakes his head. “It’s okay. You couldn’t have.”

With my free hand, I squeeze his arm. He attempts a smile.

“I should talk about her more, I suppose. I think about her a lot. It’s weird passing by big life moments without her. Having a kid, getting drafted, moving around, buying a house…”

“You were close, then?”

“We were. She was the best.” He clears his throat and then turns his head to look at me. “What time is your flight?”

I tell him and then we chat about all the things my family has planned for the short time I’m in Arizona.

Greer’s baseball game, family dinner, a trip to the bookstore where my grandma and sister work to sign their stock of my books, and my dad really wants me to play pickleball with him now that I’m “into sports.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him no, so that should be interesting (aka, a disaster).

When it’s time for me to go, I stand and wrap my arms around Nick. I am excited to see my family, but I think I’m going to miss him.

“See you in a few days,” I say as I pull back. “Don’t have any fun without me.”

A real grin finally pulls up the corners of his mouth. “See ya, Red.”